TracFone Wireless Inc. has launched a program in Florida that provides low-income households with phone service. SafeLink Wireless will operate as part of Lifeline, a U.S. government-supported program providing phone service for low-income households.
It provides households a free mobile phone, mobile access to emergency services and 68 minutes of free monthly air time for a year. The cell phone offers in-demand features like voicemail, text messaging, call waiting, international calling to over 60 destinations and caller ID.
Families may qualify for SafeLink Wireless service if their household income is not above 135 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines, or if they receive government assistance that including Medicaid, food stamps and other programs.
The program is yet another example of a niche voice service that does not fit the classic definition of a "commodity." That is to say, this particular voice application is not a functional substitute for other voice products, but rather a particular implementation of voice that is the foundation for a vertical revenue segment within the broader market.
Some providers of voice services for retailers would probably note that very little outbound traffic or features typically are used in such settings. Most of the value is provided by inbound calling features such as automated attendant and call transfer, for example. Low-cost mobile service might be part of the reason. But part of the reason for this use pattern is simply that many retailers do no outbound telesales. They simply wait for customers to walk in the front door or call.
Restocking functions might require some outbound calling, but in many cases local distributors supply that function, so "long distance" is not required.
The point is that, in actual practice, there are all sorts of real-world use cases for voice communications that do not fit the classic definition of a "commodity," with the implications that typically has for pricing, conditions of use and packaging.
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